Last.



No. 857.552. PATENTED JUNE 18. 1907.

E. A. EASTMAN.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

LAST. APPLIAIIQN FILED NOV.17. 1906.

UNITED STATES PATENT oEEIoE.

ERNEST A. EASTMAN, OF

CRAWFORD, PORATION.

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO MCGREGOR & CANBY COMPANY, OFDAYTON,

OHIO, A COR- LAST.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 18, 1907.

Appli-mon ned November 17,1906. serial No. 343,875.

T all whom zit mfr-y concern.-

Be 1t lmownthal', I, ERNEST A. EASTMAN, a citizen of the United States,residing at Ch icago, in the county ol' Cook and State of Illi nois,have invented an .'l'rnprovementin Lasts, of. Winch the followingdescription, 1n connectlon with the accompanying drawings, is

a speciication, like letters on the drawings tor and have no tendency nv forepart of the shoe.

v heel of the representing like parts.

It is a well known fact that almost all shoes as they become Wornv runover on the outside to some extent, so that the foot hangs over the solealong the outside portion of the In other words, shoes usually treadsidewise, as it is termed. by last makers, so that instead of the vampor upper remaining centrally positioned over the sole as it should, itgradually-shifts or bulges outwardly along the outside of the foot, theresult being that the Weight of the wearer is gradually carried more andmore to to the outside of the shoe, thereby wearing the sole andfrequently the heel unevenly.

My invention preventsthis tendency of shoes by constructing the lastinsuch a inanner as to compel the shoe to throw the foot ol" the wearercentrally along the sole so that the foot hugs the inside of the shoeexactly as it should. The heel end of the counter is the Amost rigidpart of the shoe, the entire counter beingpurposely rigid for supportingthe foot and maintaining the shape of the shoe. Hence all the give oryield must come onY the forcpart. That is to say, theheel portion-ol'the shoe is not only arbitrary, but it remains unalterable acorn-dingto' its original shape and constant-tion. Also the heel ol' the footControls the position of the foot, especially ol' the toe portion orforopart of the foot.

M y invention. takes advantage of the foregoing two facts by soconstructing the heel and locating the center line of the back of thecrooked last that the shoe ronstruoted thereon has its ounter portion olheel part so shaped with relation to the rest oi' the shoe that itpositionsthe heel part so es to eonlpel the l'orepart 'lo tread in theConbatevor to work 'over to the outside and run over thi.. .shoev of thecounter guides or oonol' the shoe, as it is the only .rigid and hence bytrois the rest part that absolutely giving it the right shape anddirection the i I l l l l l v that shoe in the right direction to director push the foot to the inside or center as distinguished from the oldconstruction. I accomplish this result by swinging the een ter line ofthe back of the heel toward the outside ofthe last, and buildingJ up theoutside of the heel beyond said. center line, taking oli' the inside ofthe heel at the opposite side of said center line, and preferablybuilding up the last at the inside ust'at the front oi the heel, therebypushing forward the outer end of vthe width line of the heel so thatwhen a line is drawn from the heel to the toe through said centerline atthe baul; of the heel perpendicular to the width line, it comes at orinside of the big toe. This gives a strong tendency to the foot to movetoward the inside, so that the shoe is broken in in that Way and as itgrows 4old the upper will not push over to the outside but the shoe anduser get the benefit of the iull tread of the sole.

In the drawings I have illustrated my invention with reference toseveral of the leading types of crooked lasts (as distinguished fromstraight lasts).

Figures l, 2, 3 and Li are similar bottom plan views of different formsof lasts or patterns, showing by reference to dotted lines in whatrespects they diller from the old construction.

My invention relates to crooked lasts, which are those commonly usedv atthe )resent day, as distinguished from slipper lasts and the oldfashioned "straightJ lasts.

Referring to the (.lrfnvings, Fig. l shows a swing last, t. e., oneforni of 'crooked lasts, sometimes oalled the walkinf fast" last. 1hedotted curved lino shows ow this last has )reviously been constructedand the lull lines indicate my construction, from whioh it will be seenthat the lines of the forepart ay coineide in both constructions lronithe toe back to near the heel, but that the conter lino oli the back olEthel heel has been sbil'tod toward the outside I'ronl the point .I totho point 2- and that the rdar outside portion has been built up at 3and at the opposite or inside rear end has been taken oll. at Il,thereby :banging the width line 5 so its outerond (i is forward oll itsold position, the previous width line boing indicated at 7. At and justin front ol' the width line the .in de e? last builtiip at and theopposite side is taken olll at '9. rlhe result is that the center lineo'f the last, i. e., the line which extends from the center line 2 etthe nac-ik: of the heel perpendicular to the 'width line falls on theinside of the last and extends 5 out slightly to the inside of the toe,as shown clearlyT by the center line 10. The line 11 is the previouscenter line of the last as it has heretofore been constructed, I havesiniilarly designatedI the corresponding lines and io lust portions ineach of the figures andi-have also drawn lines parallel to the centerline of the last at a distance therefrom correspondine; to haltl of thclength of the width line. By my newconstruction the outside line 12 1.5/passes toward the toe just at the outside thereof, and the inside line,if drawn, would not touch the last, but would pass entirely to theinside thereof, whereas in the old construction just the opposite is thecase, and 2o only the inside line appears, as indicated at 13, exceptingin c very extreme styleJ Where the' outside line 14 just touches theextreme outside oi' thc forepart.

From thc ahoveexplanatioirit will he nnderstood that my inventionrelates to a last in which the too has an inward swingr toward theinside of the lust or loot, and resides in i shifting to the outside thetruc center line of the hack ol,E thc heel and correspondingly changingthe contour oi the `outside and inside of the heel so that the point 2will in inet 'he the true. center line, i. e., will come at the rearcenter of the cuiviitnres at either side. The result is that`in use thesti arhitrery counter of the shoe is so shaped and posie tioned,corresponding to the last, that it compels the loot to rest properly inthe shoe. Accordingly no riinninp; over ol the shoe can take place,tho'sole is oblig-cd to Wear uni- 4.o fornily throughout the entirewidth of the tread and the wearer has comfort ns the joints ofhis Vtootarc'not pressed against the sides ol' tho shoe Vin an unnatural 1nn-nncr.

'lho width lino is defined :is that transversc lino which intersects thcide-st part ci' the heel at (-,orrcspo'mlingr distances from tho hackond ol' the heel alongthe opposite identical sirio-curves at tho sideso1' the heel, and I it is found hy folding' exactly together the 5oopposite rear sido edges ot' a paper heel-pat tern and striking, a lineat a right angle from the feld er to the widest )oint of said coincidingside-curves from the endet' the heel. The center line of the lastcorresponds to said 'fold or'crease, and the center line of theheelisthe vertical line on the heel of the last which intersects the rearond of said fold or crease,

Having described my invention, what I clailn as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent, is,

l A crooked last for boots and shoes7 having the center line at the backof the heel located toward the outside of'the last suiiciently to bringthe center line of the last, which extends from said center line ofthehee'l, perpendicular to the Width line, at or inside-the toe of the lastwhile yet maintain ing the crooked formation of the last asdistinguished from a straight last.

2. A. crooked last for hoots and shoes, having the outside rear end cirthe heel built up and the inside rear end of the heel taken oi, so as torender the crooked last abnormal but not straight and to tiring thecenter line at the rear ot the heel toward the outside snHiciently toswing the center line of 'the last 4nearer to the inside of the iorepartthan it is to the outside.

3. A crooked last for boots and-shoes .in which the toe has an inwardswing, having its heel so shaped that the center line passingr throughthe middle of the width line, and a line parallel thereto intersecting`the outside end oi said width line cnihrace the toe ot' the last hetweentheir forward ends.

Ll. A crooked last for hoots and. shoes in which the toc has an inwardswing, having its heel so shaped that a line from thel inside end of thewidth line projected forward parallel to the centerline of the lastlalls outside of the inside surlace of the forepart of' the last.

lntostiniony \\'h -reol, ,l have signed my nii-lire to thisspccilication, in the presence of two snhscrihing witnesses.

ERNEST A. EASIMAN. i

Witnesses:

(ino. ll, MAXWMLL, M. J. S12-ummmL ack

